Cutting to the Heart of the Matter
by GargoyleSama
Summary: [SPD] Nominated for Best NonCanon Romance at the Hope For The World Fanfiction Awards!  When unrecognised unrequited love is torn asunder, Syd finds tenderness where tragedy could have been.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. This story was transcribed by the voices in the dark places in my soul. I make no profit from them, but to shut them up.

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Author's Notes: I am a Boom/Kat shipper. This story is not one, though. This story is a long dark ride, but it does have a happy ending.

-

Boom slid to the floor and into a fetal position in the darkened corridor. It had been a full two weeks since Isinia Cruger had passed this mortal coil. Two full weeks the Commander had been in mourning. Two full weeks and then Boom's heart came ripping out of his chest.

Everyone at the base knew about it; everyone but Boom, that is. Believing your wife was dead and knowing must have been different. The relationship that wasn't allowed decided to make up for lost time. Just this morning Commander Doggie Cruger and Doctor Katherine Manx announced their courtship, and the heart and soul of one Carl Boomhauser was offered as a sacrifice to what gods there may be.

After the shouts of joy had died down, no one had noticed the missing tester. Not that he thought they would. The only one that would give him any attention with regularity now had someone else that consumed all of her time. He now even questioned the reason that he was kept around for so long. Was it out of guilt, to provide a distraction for someone that the Commander had felt that he was slighting, someone that would be a placeholder, but easily discarded when the time came.

Boom's face was dry; the ability for his body to produce tears had burned out long ago. He jerked back, his head hitting the bulkhead. It hurt, but instead of stopping, he continued. The logical thought was if he caused enough physical pain, then the pain in his heart wouldn't be noticeable.

Slowly, oh so slowly, he stopped, a new idea forged into his head, something that he hadn't thought about or done in a long time. Standing, and gaining his wobbly legs, he started onwards to his quarters, not noticing the stain of blood on the wall where his head had lain.

-

The next morning found a jovial air in the SPD Command Center. They say that everyone loves a lover, but what of our lovelorn Boom? B-Squad had gathered for roll call, as Commander Cruger and Doctor Manx entered. Looking around Cruger started to growl, "Where is Boom?"

Sky Tate, current red ranger stepped forward, "We haven't seen him, Sir. He usually beats us here, but no one has seen him since early yesterday."

"Like that is a big surprise," added in the SPD pink ranger.

"What was that, Cadet Drew?" bellowed the Commander.

"I was just saying that anyone that is surprised that Boom ran and hid has to be blind, or oblivious."

"Sydney, why do you say that?" asked Doctor Manx.

"Oh, come on, it is so obvious that he cared greatly for you, Kat, perhaps even loved you in his own little Boom way. Your announcement yesterday would have crushed him. I'm not surprised that he made himself scarce. I may not be able to read auras or anything, but I do know that Boom has a very gentle, caring soul. I just thought that he would have turned up by now," espoused Syd.

Kat glanced at Cruger and went to a nearby terminal. "Locate SPD Personnel Carl Boomhauser. Come on, it shouldn't take this long."

"SPD Personnel Carl Boomhauser's transponder is not functioning," intoned the computer.

"Computer, Command Override, Doctor Katherine Manx, Sierra Nova Six One Two, DNA Location SPD Personnel Carl Boomhauser, Scope limit, SPD Command Center," said a frantic Kat.

There was a long pause that Kat realized that she wasn't breathing. She let out a long breath as she watched the read outs denying her from finding her assistant. Finally the computer's speakers came to life, "SPD Personnel Carl Boomhauser DNA located in Corridor Seven level three section four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, and in room three seven fifteen."

The others in the room saw Kat start to slump, but before any others could react; Doggie was by her side, holding her. "Computer, subject was moving, correct?"

"Negative, all subjects were stationary during scan."

-

As Bridge and Z helped the Commander get Kat to the infirmary after she passed out, Sky stayed on the command bridge to watch over things, leaving Sydney the unwanted task to check on Boom. It was unspoken agreement that she was going to find a suicide scene. The four rangers had agreed that in situation like this that Bridge was not to go into a scene like that because of his sensitivity. This left the three remaining rangers on a rotation. Lucky for Z and Sky it was Sydney's turn.

She approached the door and did the oddest of things, she knocked. It was out of habit more than anything else, but she couldn't stop herself. She brought out her morpher and was ready to override the lock, when she received an amazing surprise. A voice on the other side of the door answered her knock with a faint, "Go away."

"Boom? Is that really you? It's Syd, please open up!" came the excited cheerleader like voice.

"No, I don't want anyone to see me like this, especially you guys."

"Boom, it's just me, okay? You know I could open this door at anytime, but if you don't want me too, then I won't. Will you just talk to me?"

"Syd, I don't want to talk, I just want to… Syd, just go away, okay, it's for the best."

Syd crossed her arms and sat down with her head on the door, ears straining to hear sounds from inside. "Boom, I won't go away. Is it okay if we just talk? Maybe that will help."

There was a long sigh, "Okay, you want to know what is going on, don't you?"

"Let me guess first?" Sydney asked. When she didn't hear an answer she proceeded, "Let me start with your time at the Command Center. Kat was the first woman that paid you any positive attention on a regular basis outside of your own family, and then maybe anyone besides your mother. What started as respect and like grew into infatuation, and then into love, but you couldn't tell her. The fear of rejection was too great. As long as you could pretend in your mind that there was some hope, then you could live in your dreams.

You made it possible for her to go to Central Command, because you knew that she wouldn't if she worried about us here. You knew that it would tear you to shreds on the inside, but it was your choice, and you knew that she would be appreciated and recognized there. After the final battle and Doggie returned with Isinia, you held out hope that Kat would get over her love for him and realize how much you love her, cut to happily ever after.

Only that didn't happen. Isinia was ill and soon passed away, leaving nothing between Kat and Cruger to pursue their relationship, taking away from you the only hope in your mind at finding someone to love you in return. So, you decide to end it all, but somehow mess up and leave a trail of blood back to your rooms."

There was silence. Quietly Syd heard Boom respond, "I didn't do anything until I got into my room."

"Then how did the blood get into the hallway?" inquired Syd confusedly.

There was a pause while Boom thought through his aching head, "It must have been from when I was banging my head against the wall."

"What? Oh, Boomy, let me in, okay? You need someone to look after your injuries."

"Syd, what I did, it's a violation of conduct. If anyone official sees them, and reports them, then they will fire me. It's not like I have anyone to bend the rules for me any more."

Syd sighed and put her fists to her cheeks and thought. Slowly she started to smile. She pulled out her morpher and contacted the Command Bridge. "Sky, this is Syd, I am going off-duty."

"What, Syd? What is going on?" the confused response of her squad leader and acting commander questioned.

"I can't tell you now. After, work I will let you all know. Cadet Sydney Drew signing off," she said as she placed the morpher back into its case.

She stood up and stretched out, and then unzipped her uniform top and took it off. She folded it and placed it gently on the floor. She faced the door in a light tank top, her hair falling gently on her shoulders. She knocked again, "Boomy? It's Syd; I am off duty and have no connection to SPD right now, except my pants… I could take them off if you would like. May I come in?"

Syd heard a slow scurrying sound heading closer to the door. She heard the lock disengage and the door slide open, there Boom stood. Syd could see traces of blood in his sandy blond hair, and evidence of seepage of blood from the white gauze on his arms.

Boom was shocked; there stood Syd in a tank top that clung to her from the slight sweat that she had worked up showing off her amazingly toned body. "Leave the morpher outside, they can trip the communication circuit remotely."

Syd nodded and simply unzipped her pants and slid out of them as she stepped into his room and let the door close behind her.

-

There stood Sydney Drew, sexiest cadet in SPD history to some, in a sweat wet tank top and bikini briefs in front of one Carl Boomhauser, SPD washout. "S-s-Syd, you, you, you don't have any clothes on!"

Syd looked at Boom with a put off look on her face. "Boom, I have on a tank top and a pair of panties. If that doesn't count as clothes, then what does?"

"I mean, well..."

"Boom, I am comfortable with my body; it's okay. Let's talk about your attire." She led him to his bed and sat down, guiding him next to her. "I want you to take a look at something." Syd turned her arms so Boom could see them.

He noticed faint lines on her arm, barely noticeable, except for the fact that she was pointing them out. "Syd, those are..."

"Cut marks, yes. When I was younger..." she paused and gulped. "My parents love me, I know that, but they couldn't always be there for me. They substituted gifts for closeness, part of me accepted that, but part of me... Well, you get the idea."

Boom couldn't take his eyes off the trace of the lines. "But they are so faint, how?"

"My powers," Syd answered. "I can't transform very much of myself when I go for a hard material, but a soft material I can transform more. Talc is a very soft mineral as you know. I simply converted some talc and very carefully flaked off the scars. If you know what you are looking for, even then most people aren't sure."

"I didn't know Syd. How did you..."

"Stop doing it? It was hard, I won't kid you, but I found something important that I believed in."

"SPD..."

Syd nodded, "Yes, Boom, you know that this didn't help, don't you?"

"Yeah, but it's not like I could even do this right, but it will be okay in a little bit, it always will be okay in a little bit."

"Boom what do you mean?"

Boom shook his head and started to undo the bandages. Syd winced as he undid the last of them, and saw the blood, but the one thing that she didn't see is what she expected. There were no open wounds, there weren't even any scabs, and no scars. Syd grabbed his wrists and twisted his arms searching for what she knew had to be there.

"What, where, how?" was all that Syd could say.

"B Squad isn't the only humans in SPD that have powers. Though mine aren't as impressive as y'alls, they do come in handy. I guess you figured it out; I heal fast and completely. Not only that, but I process toxins at an accelerated rate. From what I have figure out is that it would take an instantly fatal instance to kill me, but even that may not be true. How else do you think that I can test all of the equipment, and not constantly be in the infirmary."

"Boom, those are wonderful powers, why didn't you tell anyone? You know we are down one ranger, one of the things that has stopped anyone else from being accepted was the lack of powers."

Boom cast his eyes to the ground, "Except I was kicked out of the academy because I am a screw up. No, that would never happen Syd. I have always been a screw up. It would be best if I just leave and let everyone get on with their life. It's not like anyone would miss me."

"There is someone that would Boom," replied Syd as she leaned in close to him and lightly pressed her lips to his.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Power Rangers are not owned by me. This story comes from the dark voices in my head.

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Author's Notes: I would like to thank everyone for the acceptance of this story. I was afraid that it would be met with resistance. Odd pairings come to me naturally. It is a curse that I bear to my enjoyment.

-

Boom was lost in the sensation of the silky lips to his. The smell of strawberries insinuated its way into his nose. Boom slowly relaxed and did a combination of a sigh and moan into her mouth. He opened his eyes as he felt her lips pull back to see her cerulean eyes looking deep into his own. There was a singularly strange look upon her visage; Boom knew that he had done something wrong.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I…" was all that Boom could stammer out.

"About what, Boom?"

"The kiss, I shouldn't have done it." Boom turned to stand up, but was held fast by Syd's long, lean fingers.

"Boom, I kissed you; not the other way around."

"But that look on your face, it repulsed you," said Boom dejectedly.

"Boom, I have a lot to teach you about women. I am NOT repulsed in anyway. I am surprised that you are such a wonderful kisser."

"WH-what, me, a wonderful kisser?"

Syd nodded, "Yes, most guys kiss hard, or try to jam their tongue down your throat, but you kiss softly, like a woman. It was very… nice," Syd added with a blush.

"I thought so also, do you think that we could do some more of that?" Boom asked shyly.

"I think that I can arrange that," Syd said with a smirk. "But for now, I think that you need to get cleaned up, and I need to get dressed and let everyone know that you are still among the living. And since I went off duty, maybe I can wrangle the entire day out of it. You don't look so good, maybe you need to use a sick day," winked Syd.

-

Syd opened Boom's door and took a quick glance down the hall in both directions, ascertaining that no one was coming in either direction she grabbed her uniform and shut the door as her torso re-entered the room. As she started to slide on her pants, Boom looked around nervously and started to turn around.

"Boom, you don't have to turn around. It's not like you are going to see anything that you haven't seen yet. Who knows, but you may see more at some point," said Syd as she slowly sensuously slid on her slacks. She put her arms through her jacket sleeves and shrugged on the confining garment, she paused with the open jacket framing her bosom, drawing Boom's eyes to them. "Thank you for finally noticing them. If the first thing a guy notices about me is my chest, it puts me off, but if they don't notice it at all, then I begin to wonder about them." She shrugged and started to zip up the jacket, but stopped half way. "The guy, not my chest, I know I have a good one of those."

Boom could only nod as she finished zipping her jacket and crossed the distance to him. Again, her lips past personal zones and touched his. This time there was more activity from both of them. Kissing and nibbling bounced from one set of lips to the other, soft and slow like a languid ballet. "I guess I need to get cleaned up," Boom murmured as the kiss ended.

Syd nodded, "I need to get going and figure out what I am going to tell everyone. I have no idea what to tell them."

Boom's right cheek crooked to the side, "You could tell them that I tripped and hit my head coming back to my room and that when you got here I was groggy." Boom saw the look in her eyes. "No, it isn't true, but everyone will believe it. There goes clumsy Boom, let's bet on how long till he has an accident." Boom looked deeply into Sydney's eyes. She could see the sadness in them as he spoke again, "Don't do this to yourself, Syd; you deserve someone better than me. You will be laughed at if you are seen with me outside of work."

Getting closer to Boom than he would normally be comfortable with, "Boom, that just means there will be fewer women that I will have to compete with for you, and more guys that I can put down and drive off. I may be laughed at, but you will be held in awe. I have had my share of the guys that I should have; I now want a guy that I deserve, one that will treat me with respect and not only love me, but care for and care about me. I know you have a tender heart and soul and would never do anything knowingly to hurt me, also, we share something that we can't really talk about to anyone else," with this she turned his arm palm up and did the same to hers and put them side by side. "Let's see if we never have to do anything like this ever again."

Boom only nodded and slowly moved forward. Syd moved her head to the side and kissed him on the cheek. "No, as much as I want to do that, if we start, neither of us would leave here for a long time… and this will help us take things slow."

Boom nodded and as Sydney went to turn to leave, he grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. "Let me know if you will have to work the rest of the day. If not, then I will burn a sick day."

Syd just gave him a big grin and ducked out of the door.

-

Boom went to his bathroom and started the shower. The thing that he hated worst of all about his healing is that he still had to clean up. There were some accounts of healing factors that absorbed the blood and discarded flesh back into the body via the skin. Though he would be the first to admit that it was better to have to clean yourself up was better than the people that consumed all of what came out of their body. That sent a shiver up his spine as he stepped into the steaming shower.

-

Sydney Drew, SPD Pink Ranger, walked into the command bridge and greeted the current Red Ranger, Sky Tate. He looked at her questioningly. "Well, what was that about you going off duty?"

"Boom didn't need a member of SPD at his door, he needed a friend, and we both know that there is a difference."

"So, you knew you were going to see something that you would have to report if you were there in an official capacity?" drilled Sky.

"Yes, or no, it doesn't matter. What I saw and heard was as a civilian and between friends. Though you don't have to worry about the blood," Syd looked away, "Boom tripped and hit his head on his way back to his rooms. He was a little groggy when I got there, but seemed to be okay once I talked to him."

"Do you think he was under the influence of anything?"

"A broken heart, shattered dreams, a torn up soul, yes, but that is all, no alcohol or drugs, if that is what you mean. You have to understand, Sky, Boom truly cares about Kat, and had formed hope after hope that someday the two of them would be together."

Sky snorted at the statement.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Boom is, for all practical purposes, a washed out loser. He would have as much of a chance getting with you as with Kat. Let's face it, he doesn't bring much to the plate; the only reason he still has a job here is because of Cruger's kindness. He isn't too bright, and he is more likely to break something as he is to fix it. His days are probably numbered, especially once this gets out."

"What do you mean by that Schuyler? That you don't think that Boom pulls his weight around here?"

"He was a good assistant for Kat, but there will be a tension between them and guess which one will have to go?"

"Kat, because she is dating her direct supervisor? Correct me if I am wrong there, oh great bastion of rules and regulations," Syd said as she turned to leave.

"Wait, I mean... Where are you going?" stammered Sky.

"To see about my friend, I am off duty remember? By the way Sky, there is a lot about Boom that you don't know, so don't pretend to. And to the suggestion that he doesn't have a chance with me, I think that you don't know me too well either," said Syd as she left the Command Bridge and headed to her room.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of the Power Rangers franchise. I do this for fun, you know that thing that we had as kids, but seemed to lose at some point? I greedily hold onto mine and you benefit by reading.

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Author's Notes: Boom and Syd forever? Is this a new direction in fan fiction? Will everyone forget about pairing Syd with anyone else? Eh, it's probably just Sisyphus rolling a rock up a hill.

-

Cadet Sydney Drew strode to her room where she began stripping out of her uniform upon entering. She paused for a moment and activated the communication system and connected to Carl Boomhauser's room, upon his answering, "Boomy," she said with a smile in her voice, "I am off for the rest of the day, barring attacks. What do you say we go somewhere more private than here and talk?"

Boom grinned at the idea, "You mean like a concert, or ball game?"

The unorthodox response, which was true none the less, elicited a girlish giggle from the womanly blond, "Yeah, something like that, or the park even."

"Let me 'call in' and swing by the infirmary; want to meet me there?"

Syd frowned, there was one reason and one reason alone, or rather one person alone that Boom would be going to the infirmary, "Boom, what would you…"

"Syd, she is my friend, first and foremost. I am kind of the reason she is in there, and what would that say about me as a friend, if I don't go see her. Plus, it will help continue the healing process."

"Continue?"

"Yes, I had a lady in shining armor start the process for me."

Syd smirked as she blushed at the words from the com link, "I don't think they were shining Boom."

"Well, they might not have been shining, but you were all aglow." With that line, Boom shut down the link before he lost his nerve and turned into a stuttering fool. He slowly let out a breath the he didn't know that he was holding.

-

Syd looked at her closet, her armoire, and the open drawers in her room trying to decide what to wear for Boom. Each time she thought at something or looked at it, she shook her head. "Boom isn't one for high fashion, though that may need to change in certain situations." She picked up a distressed t-shirt, "He really isn't into the grunge look, though jeans probably would work well for today." She looked around and her face lit up as she saw the pair that she was looking for. A devious smile painted itself on her lips as she descended into her closet and pulled out a baby doll t and a sheer dress shirt. "Wait till he gets a load of me… He may need that healing factor to correct his blood flow."

-

Boom stuck his head into the infirmary, and after assuring the staff there that he wasn't there to get treated himself, he walked towards that the bed where Kat was sitting up, surrounded by Bridge, Z and Cruger. It was unfortunate for them that they happened to be in her way. Kat slipped from the bed, used her hands on the shoulder of the two males to provide vertical lift, and pushed off the back of and unsuspecting Z to make it to Boom in one movement. She enveloped Boom in a hug, and then quickly began to inspect him.

"Are you okay? The computer said the blood was probably about four pints worth…"

Boom successfully squirmed from the feline's embrace, "Well, you know it would take a lot more than that for you to worry about me."

"Boom, I didn't think, well, I mean I thought that you…"

"Kat, it is okay, it came as a shock, and you know how well I handle shock. Well, at least emotional shock, but I will be okay. You could have chosen a better way to break the news to me."

"I'm sorry, Boom, but we were keeping things under wraps. Isinia knew she was dying and wanted to make sure Doggie was happy. She sensed the tension between us and said that it was okay."

"And how it happened just happened to make me look like a fool, well, a bigger fool than normal. Is that what you meant to happen? To make sure I would go away?"

"Damn it, Boom, I don't want you to go away. You are my best friend here…" she looked up into his glistening eyes. She knew how much she had hurt him, and knew that her happiness was coming at a large price. "Plus, you are the only person that I can tolerate in the lab with me for an extended period of time."

"I find that hard to believe," said Boom as he glanced towards the Commander.

"Don't, Boom, did I ever tell you why I took you under my wing when you started on as a civilian?"

"Pity comes to mind."

Kat cuffed Boom on the back of the head, "No, don't think that. You remind me of my little brother. He was a lovable goofball, just like you, and also like you, one could sense that underneath it all there was something truly special waiting to bloom." Kat turned Boom's face to hers, "I didn't get the chance to see him bloom, and I wasn't going to run the chance of missing you bloom. Call it me being a selfish old woman."

"Kat, you are not old."

"Boom, I am a hundred and…"

"I know, and I also know that isn't even middle age for your species."

Kat did a half smirk, "So, are we good?"

Boom nodded, "Yeah, we are good."

"That's good; because good is good, unless it is bad, and even then it can be good. There is a twentieth century school of philosophy that used bad for good, and also for bad, and good for good, but not bad, but…" Z shook her head as her hand was planted over Bridge's mouth to stop him from talking.

"Thanks, Z, if Bridge had really gotten started up, then we would never get out of here," came a lilting voice from the doorway.

Jaws dropped and eyes bugged as they recognized Sydney Drew in the doorway in civilian clothes. Gone was the SPD dark grey suit, and in its place was a light pink baby doll t that clung to her upper torso yet showed off her navel and toned tummy, a sheer white shirt, that was obviously for show was over it, and to cap things off was a pair of blue jeans that were struggling to be smaller than her legs, the lacing up the side showed tight toned tanned skin through the leather lacings.

"Cadet Drew! What is the meaning of this?"

"A friend of mine is having a hard day, so I am taking a personal day from all of the ones that I have accrued from all the time I put in here. But don't worry; I will be available in case of attack." She turned strait to Boom and raised his jaw back to its normal position. "Thank you, that was the response that I was going for. So where do you think that we should go first?"

"How about to get something to eat, I haven't had anything today except my supply of protein bars."

"Well, I know a little place that we can start at then," said Syd as she did her best to form onto Boom.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: No, I have not assumed command of the Power Rangers; if I had, you would see strange pairings like Chip and Vida… Wait… Didn't they hint at that…

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Author's Notes: No, I am a Chip and Clare type of guy, but ya know the wanna be goth techno deejay bad girl and the whimsical imagination junkie has so much potential. Anyway, on with the show of the newest ship or the PR line, Boom and Syd…

-

Syd had just watched Boom polish of his second double bacon cheeseburger. He looked up sheepishly. True he had eaten the unhealthiest thing that the café had on its menu, but he was neat about it. "Boom, you know that isn't all that good for you don't you?"

"For a normal person, I would agree with you, but with my abilities, any damage that it may cause is eliminated. Also, I needed the amino acids from the beef and pork to continue to rebuild the blood that I lost and repair the muscles that I cut, and the calcium from the cheese for my bones," replied the tech.

"I'm just glad that everyone was so concerned with Kat that they didn't notice the differences in me," he continued.

"You mean the lean mean hard-body that you have now?"

There was a look of shock on Boom's face, "How did you know?"

Syd let out a throaty laugh and leaned forward. "I have had my hands all over you, and I can tell a toned body. There are some guys that go to the gym three times a week that would kill for your build right now."

Boom blushed and hung his head, "It's the process, not me. It burns off fat to help power the effect, if not fat then muscle. So, underneath my safety cushioning of fat, there is lean muscle."

"Then why haven't we ever seen you like this at the base?"

"Kat came up with a high caloric drink that pretty much negates the loss. It doesn't taste THAT bad, but I'll probably need to get a few when I get back."

"Okay," Syd said with a bit of sadness in her eyes.

Boom looked at her, "What's wrong?"

Syd bit her lip before responding, "Well, this is going to sound really shallow, but… Well, I had thought about wanting to show off my hard-bodied boyfriend."

"Oh, well, okay," blandly commented Boom as he looked dejectedly down.

Syd had slid her right foot out of her flat and ran it up the inside of Boom's right leg, paused at his knee and then continued in. The amazing thing was that she didn't even look like she was moving.

"Carl, I mean you," she said tenderly as she reached across the table and raised his face towards hers. While doing this, her foot found its way all the way to the end of Boom's inseam. "We are going to have to work on this confidence thing, aren't we?" She didn't wait for Boom's slight nod before slowly maneuvering her foot on Boom's front.

"Do you think that I would do this to just any one, Boomy?" she asked in a sweet innocent voice. "Do you think that I would dress up like this and hang on someone that wasn't worthy?"

"N-no," was all that the short-circuiting brain in his skull could produce.

She smiled wickedly at him and slid her foot down and back into its shoe. She swirled her finger in the salad dressing still on her plate and looked Boom directly in the eyes, "Who knows, that may be the last time we hear that word today," and then she slowly licked the creamy dressing off of her finger, before sucking it. "So," she continued after dropping her voice into a throaty rasp, "what did you have in mind for today?"

-

Boom came out of the Children's Science Museum laughing, and unsuccessfully trying to escape from an irate Syd. "Come back here, Carl Boomhauser! You better come back here, if you know what is good for you!"

Carl collapsed to the ground as Syd grabbed his collar. Her hair was frizzed out and her look was none to happy. "I'm sorry; I thought you knew what was going to happen. It is a classic demonstration." He could tell that his logic was falling on deaf ears, and he knew it was time for a new tactic, "Please, my goddess, have mercy upon this your unworthy worshiper.

Syd suddenly stopped. "Goddess?" she said as she slid to the ground, sitting on Boom's chest. She mussed up his hair, "That is the first time that anyone has called me that. I think that I like it."

Boom smiled up at the blond on his chest. "If I could but worship my goddess how she wishes, I am sure that she would show mercy for her pitiful subject."

Syd grabbed Boom's cheeks with one hand and squeezed, making a fish mouth kiss on the hapless subject. Boom's heart sank when he looked at her face.

-

Syd literally bounced out of the spa, while she was followed by a bewildered Boom. "Syd, what was all that they did?"

Syd laughed and pulled his hands to her safe. "Boomy, they just gave you a manicure, and made sure that they are oh," Syd then moaned, "soft for when the touch the skin of your goddess. Now, aren't you glad that you were subjected to it? Or should I say, won't you be ecstatic later."

-

Boom sighed after they left the fifth store and he was doing a good imitation of a pack horse. "Syd, is this the later that you were talking about?"

"No, Boomy, the start of that is at the next shop," said Syd as she slipped into another door.

Boom followed her into the shop and didn't notice anything until after the door had closed and he heard, "Please, Sir, allow me to help you with these."

Boom saw a petite brunette come into his view, and felt his load start to lessen. Soon he was completely unencumbered. The brunette went to Syd and gave her a big hug. "I see you have finally taken my advice and found yourself a real guy and not some piece of fluff. Word to the wise, cousin, you don't try to break guys like these."

Syd laughed as she led the brunette over to Boom. "Cecilia, I would like to introduce to you Carl Boomhauser. Boom, this is my cousin Cecilia, she owns this lingerie shop."

Boom took her offered hand and lightly shook it. "A pleasure to meet you." It was then that the rest of what Sydney had said kicked in. "Lingerie shop?" Looking around, he was truly inside a shop filled with lace, silk, satin, and other assorted soft materials. "Um, Syd?"

Cecilia walked Boom to a chair and sat him down. He noticed right away the comfy chair. "You just sit here, relax, and be prepared to enjoy the show."

Boom sighed as relaxed back into the chair. It again took a few moments after Cecilia had led Syd into a door for her words to compute. "Show?"


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Power Rangers, if I did, then there would be more explosions and more… well, I AM trying to keep this a T story.

-

Author's Notes: Alright, who wants to be Boom now? I did add in an OC in Syd's cousin, I just thought the visual of a short dark haired version of Syd would be cute…

-

Boom began to worry about what was happening because of the giggling that was coming from behind the cracked door. It didn't help when Cecilia came bouncing out from the room and went to the front door to lock it and pull down the blinds. Boom's curious look caused her to pause and smile at him. "Don't worry, 'Private Showings' are expected at high end shops such as this. Just relax and enjoy."

This did little to ease Boom's nervousness, especially the wink she gave him as she slid back behind the door. Soon, Cecilia returned and sat on the arm of Boom's chair. She handed him a clipboard, "Now, what you are to do, is check the ones that you like, and mark through the ones that you don't, the ones that you feel neither way on, leave blank."

"Oh, okay?" said a confused Boom.

"Think of this as a wish list. The ones with checks are the ones you would like to see her in, the ones that have been marked through are ones that she doesn't need to worry about getting, and the ones with nothing are middle road things, which she can get, and see if she can get you to like them." Cecilia stood up and started to walk away, but dropped her pen. She bent over at the waist and slowly stood up. Turning her head and lightly throwing her short cut bob hairstyle out of her way, "It also gives me an idea if she does anything stupid and loses you."

Boom couldn't help but notice the mischievous grin on her face as she pick up a remote and pressed a series of buttons. Boom noticed most of the lights dim, but the track lighting brighten, and soft techno musing start playing. Boom tried to locate the speakers, but was stopped by the sight of a long leg in high heels, thigh high stockings, and a garter belt. All three were white and accentuated the lean leg languishing at the opening of the door. As if on cue Syd walked out confidently passed in front of Boom and turned, so that he could see the full outfit. The panties matched the garter belt and stockings, and the bra had faint light pink hearts for the straps. Syd bent over to show what little material of the panties was there before heading back through the door. For the next hour, though to Boom it was timeless, Syd came out in various outfits and combinations. Carl could do nothing, but try to keep his mouth shut to keep the drool from coming out, and his legs crossed, to hide his uncomfortable tightness of his pants. Towards the end of the show were the more fanciful outfits, along with some more daring.

After the lights came back up Cecilia came over to him and took the clip board from Boom and looked at it. She shook her head when she saw that each and every outfit had a check by it. "I know not to use you as an indicator on which ones I need to stock," she said with a laugh. "You like everything."

"Well, when Syd was in them, I just… well, I think I would like anything," said the blushing tech.

"So, your opinion wouldn't be different if, say, I was modeling for you?" she asked as she sat on the arm of the chair. "Or say you came home from a long day of work, and I was in say outfit three," she pointed to the clipboard, and Boom remembered the tight gold outfit that looked as if it had been painted on Syd, "and had a warm bath drawn for you, would you think the same as seeing it on parade by Syd?"

Boom quickly tried to adjust his legs, to hide how much he liked the idea. "Well, I think any guy would like that. I mean, you in that, that is to say seeing anyone that they were seeing in…" Boom breathed deep, feeling he was digging a deeper and deeper hole, "I think I will shut up now."

Cecilia patted Boom's leg, "Carl, it's okay. Most guys would have made some crude response. Your embarrassment is a welcomed relief. You are a nice guy, and I was serious earlier when I said if Syd screwed up." She let her hand slowly slide to the inside of his pants leg and her eyes bulged. Her hand squeezed, shot up his leg and then down, and down again. "As serious as a heart attack serious."

At this time, Sydney Drew stepped from behind the door to see the scene before her. "What do you think you are doing, Cecilia?" exclaimed the blond.

"Can it Syd," Cecilia said while slowly relinquishing the source of her astonishment and turned to face her cousin. "If you do anything, and I mean anything to screw this up, like you usually do with relationships, I hear by call dibs in perpetuity on him." She walked up to her cousin and looked up into her eyes. Softly she said, "Syd-baby, I am serious, he is a real deal. Don't screw this one up, okay. You know I love ya, but sometimes… Well we have had that talk too many times. Why don't I just have everything delivered and you kids go on and have some fun?"

"Cecilia… Thanks, I know everything you said, and didn't say," said Syd as she took her cousin into a hug.

Most males on the planet would have killed or died to have been in either woman's position at that point, but Carl Boomhauser was one that wouldn't. All he could think about is how wonderful it would be to have family that cared as much for each other as these two did. He sighed sadly; it was the only thing that was rationally available for him to do.

The two women broke their hug and looked at the sad sack technician and smiled. They looked at each other and nodded. As one, they went to him, pulled him up and yelled, "Group HUG!" while surrounding him in caring embraces.

Boom heard Cecilia whisper up to his ear, "I am serious about what I said if she screws up."

And in the other ear he heard, "I'm not going to give her the chance to do it."

Gradually releasing the hold on Boom, Syd kissed his cheek, "I'm going to get my purse; it won't take me a second."

Watching her disappear into the room, again Cecilia turned to him, "If you ever want to get her something and don't know what to get, call me, I will help you. And if you happen to want to see another private show, I am sure that I could arrange something," she said with a wink.

Syd bounced back into the room and slid under Boom's arm, so it would drape across her shoulders. "So, we should go. All this shopping is making me hungry. Cecilia?"

"I'll have your things delivered to you by nightfall, like always, cuz. It was a pleasure to meet you Boom, don't be a stranger," Cecilia said as she unlocked the door to let them out.

Syd and Boom walked out into the afternoon sun, and onto their next destination.

-

Cecilia thought about raising the curtains again and seeing if she could do a little more business, but truth be told, she wasn't in the mood for it right now. Syd was one of her best customers, even with family discount, and she couldn't get a certain blond out of her head. She locked the door again and lit the closed light, and walked into the back room where she kept just what she needed for times like these. It wasn't the best solution she knew, but it sure beat any other solutions she could come up with at the present time. ;-)


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Power Rangers still have not been acquired by me. This is still a non-profit production. Nothing has changed.

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Author's Notes: Well, it seems that Boom and Syd are a hit, now, on with the story.

-

Boom took Syd, to all places, a steak house for supper. Through much grimacing, Syd found the few chicken and fish items on the menu, and even then, opted for a grilled chicken salad. Boom on the other hand had the twenty-four ounce porterhouse steak, saying that he still needed the protein to help replace what he had lost.

A long slow sunset walk through the park brought to a close one of the most enjoyable days of either of their lives. Not only had it been calm and relaxing, but they had each found a kindred soul in an unlikely person. As the two walked back into the SPD Command Base, they were holding hands with their fingers interlocked and leaning on each other. They stopped at a Y intersection in the hall. One path led to Sydney's room that she shared with Z, and the other led to Boom's private room.

"I guess I need to go and see if Cecilia has gotten the packages delivered yet," said Syd with a slight blush.

Boom nodded, "I probably need to check with Kat. I know she will want to make sure that everything is okay. Plus, I need to clean up my room some. I haven't really had a reason to clean it, but now…"

"You may get a guest at anytime."

It was Boom's turn to blush as he suddenly found the top of his shoes very interesting. "Oh, don't give me that, shy, bashful look. I saw how you were looking at me when I was modeling."

Boom blushed even further. "Well, I guess if you are going to be that bashful, Boom, then I won't be able to ask you to wash my back for me," pouted Syd.

That was all it took, his brain could take no more images, "Well, no, I mean, yes, what I mean is that I could do that, if you wanted…"

Syd smiled at him and shut him up with a soft peck to the lips, "Good," she said softly as she started grazing his cheek line with her teeth, "because taking long, hot, sudsy bubble baths make me so," at this point she bit his earlobe and then released it and whispered into his ear, "feminine."

Boom did the only thing that was possible for any male in his position, he gurgled.

This led to a slight chuckle from Syd, "Boomy, we are going to have to work on your confidence. Why don't you go ahead to your room, and I will meet up with you in the Rec area, in say, an hour?"

"Okay, um, Syd, well, I had a nice time today. Thank you for being there for me and all. It's nice to have someone that I can talk to about… well, you know."

Syd nodded, "It is, and also it's nice to know that I am not alone. See you in an hour?"

"Yes, though it will feel more like days," he said as she started to walk off.

Syd turned around while biting her bottom lip, grinned, and then turned and jogged down the corridor. Boom just watched her go. He watched every bounce, every curve moving in its vector, every hill and every valley, and the hills, oh my, the hills, as they bounced away.

-

Sydney Drew turned the corner and quickly peeked around the edge of wall to see the results of what she had done. She was rewarded with a sight of Carl Boomhauser stupefied from her jog, just as she had planned. She smirked at her ability to do that to males, and then smiled knowing that wasn't why Boom liked her. She walked through the grey corridor to her room and opened the door. There was Z on her bed reading.

Z looked up on Syd's arrival, "I hope you don't have any plans. That," she pointed to Syd's bed, "Will take some time to put up."

Syd looked around to her own bed and saw boxes, lots of boxes, boxes three layers deep on her bed. Her jaw dropped as she approached the mass of cardboard. Seeing an envelope on the top of it, she took it and opened it up.

Syd,

I hope that you appreciate this. If you don't, then I know that I will have to fulfill my promise about Carl. If you don't plan this for the long haul, then leave me some okay?

Your loving cuz,

Cecilia

Sydney pulled out the receipt out of the envelope and noticed that her cousin had comped the entire order. Every single outfit that she had shown Boom today was now in her room, in its own box. Looking over to her roommate Syd said, "Know what this means Z?"

"I'm going to be getting a lot of hand me downs? I don't mind the panties, but the hose are a little long for me, and I don't really fill the bras that well," commented the former street urchin.

"No, well, yes, but Cecilia approved of Boom. Do you know that he is the only guy that I have introduced her to that she has approved of? This, this is amazing."

Z cocked her eyebrow, "And since when did someone approving of Boom matter to you?"

Syd could only blush. "Well, I better get started putting these away."

"You didn't answer my question. When did approval of Boom mattering start?" inquired the yellow ranger.

Syd opened her closet and pulled out an entire stack of boxes, "I'll just set these to the side and you can go through them when you want to do so, okay?"

"I'll help you if you answer me," needled Z in a sing song voice. "Six hands are better than two."

Syd stopped, accounted for how long it would take her to put away the boxes and still change for Boom, and then sighed. "Okay, okay, but make with the duplicating and help me. I'm punching a clock here." Sys started to open the boxes and began to organize them. She stopped and looked at the silky soft offering of the current box. It was a light pink panty and bra set with matching thigh highs, she set it aside and looked at Z, "Since this morning, well maybe before, but not like this morning. Boom has always been, well Boom. He was always like the stray dog that nobody really wanted, but always was around when you needed him. As much as he was abused, pushed away, or tormented, in the end you knew that you could count on him…" Syd paused and slid to the ground. "I noticed Cruger and Kat breaking down their walls a while ago. Before Isinia died actually, and we all knew how Boom felt about Kat. I knew it would end badly, and I didn't want it to. Boom deserves better than that. He worked himself almost to DEATH for Kat, and all she did was keep pining for the one person that she knew she wouldn't get. Then she did, Z, and we all had a feeling, even if we didn't know, it was going to happen when it did. Everyone except Boom, that is. As usual, he was wrapped up in his own mind. The kindest, most caring guy you would ever want to meet was going to go down in flames, and no one cared.

"Kat took care of the developmental stuff, but do you know who made sure all the repairs were done to the Zords? It's Boom. He is the one that makes sure we are safe out there on a day to day basis. He takes care of us. Cruger and Kat may nurture us, but it's BOOM that makes sure we are okay. Look at all the testing he does to make sure the latest inventions are safe. How many times has he been hurt so we wouldn't?

"But no one cares about that, or him, so he was going to get ripped to shreds from the inside out. When he didn't blow up, or implode immediately, I thought he would be okay. When he didn't show up this morning, and then the blood… I thought what we all thought.

"When I went to his room it was as an SPD officer, but when I got there, he needed a friend. I found out that we actually had a lot in common, and the feelings that I had been having for him bloomed greater than they were… Z, I have never been with anyone that wasn't out to try to impress me, or trying to show me off. Boom was happy just being with me and me being with him. We spent so much time doing nothing," Syd caught Z looking at the boxes that she was putting away, "Well, some of the time. I even got him a manicure at the spa. What other guy do you know that I could do that with?"

Z finished putting all but the one box into Syd's closet, "Not many that would still be interested in you like Boom probably was at the lingerie store."

"In either me or Cecilia. She was highly interested in Boom. She even told me point blank that if I screwed up, that she would not hesitate to make sure he was happy."

"Whoa, wait, Cecilia, your cousin that was the lingerie model?"

Syd nodded, "After the showing, I was getting changed and when I came out, she was feeling him up."

Z gasped, "Boom was feeling her up?"

"No," said Syd shaking her head, "what I said. She was feeling him up, and I know her well enough that she liked what she found."

"Well…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean, but anyway, Boom behaved like a gentleman, he even opened doors for me."

Z 'pulled herself together' and sat on the floor next to Syd. "So?"

"So, now what?" Syd asked as she looked at the clock, "I have thirty minutes to go from casual, to melt his brains out of his nether regions."

"Oh, okay, just as long as it's nothing impossible."

Syd giggled as she stood up. "Yeah, Boom is such an innocent type of guy that I could do it in a white cotton set… hmmm."

"What are you thinking?" nervously asked Z.

"How good are you at braiding hair?"

-

"So, how are you feeling?" asked the felinoid.

"Well, besides…" Boom decided to let his rapidly healing heartbreak go, "Pretty good."

Kat looked at the charts from the test. "Well, you didn't lose any muscle mass, that's good, but your 'reserves' are down ninety percent."

Boom nodded, "I figured as much. I have been eating today," he said defensively. "Two double bacon cheeseburgers at lunch and a steak at supper. I wanted to get some more drinks from you to keep on hand in case I need them."

Kat looked at him, "Usually you just down them here and be done with it."

Boom looked away from her gaze, "That's when I didn't care about the, well you know… Now, well, there is a reason I don't want to, okay?"

"Sydney?" inquired Kat as she sat down next to Boom and put her arm around him.

Again, the top of his shoes held fascination for him. "Yeah, I mean, no, well, maybe… Okay, I think that I may be falling for her."

"You think you might be falling for her?"

"Okay I have fallen for her hard," Boom blushed more than he should have. "I mean that I have fallen for her deeply," Boom tried to correct himself. "I mean, who wouldn't."

"Just take your time, okay?" coached Kat. "If you rush into it too quickly, then you will run a risk of just using her as a replacement."

"How could she be a replacement?" queried Boom acidly. "There was never anything to replace. Everyone knows that."

"Boom," Kat tried to reason with him, "just because we didn't have a relationship, doesn't mean that there was nothing there on either of our parts. I don't want to lose you as a friend, or as a co-worker. I would like to think that you feel the same way."

Boom sighed greatly, "I don't want to lose you either, Kat… It's just right now; it's kind of hard to talk about it. I don't hurt as much when I'm with Syd. She actually makes me feel good, good mentally, and like it is good to be me. For the first time in my life, I feel like I am wanted by a woman, by two women actually."

The last statement floored the scientist, "Wait, Boom, two women? Explain."

"Well, today while Syd and I were shopping she went into her cousin's store."

Kat nodded, "I've been in there with Syd before. Isn't Cecilia her name?"

Boom nodded quickly, "That's her," Kat noticed a far away look in his eyes, "Well, she made numerous comments that if Syd messed up and lost me, that she would not hesitate to pursue me." Boom took a deep breath, "Kat, I have never been a good looking person, but to have these to women say that for all practical purposes they would fight over me, it made me feel damn good on the inside."

Kat started to preen Boom's hair, "So, if you had the choice, which one would you choose?"

Boom tried to ignore the grooming, "Well I would choose Syd. I know her already and am comfortable around her."

"But Cecilia?"

"I don't know, Kat, there is something about her that tells me I would never be bored."

-

Boom left Kat's lab, his hair now laying down neatly. He really didn't like her doing it, but he understood that it was a way to show care and concern from her raising, and truthfully, the tests had taken longer than he had expected and he knew he wouldn't be able to make it to his quarters and back to the Rec room in the allotted time.

He made it to the room with two minutes to spare; only to find Sky and Bridge were already there. Sky turned and, upon realizing it was Boom that entered Sky glared at the tech who started to sit down on the sofa. As Boom sat, Sky moved across the room.

"Get up," growled Sky.

"What?"

"I said get up, Boom."

Boom started to stand, though apparently not fast enough for Sky, who grabbed Boom by the shirt and forced him to his feet. Sky looked down at Boom's eyes and spoke, "I don't know what your game is, but Syd deserves better than someone like you. You're nothing but a wash out."

From somewhere deep within the heart of man beats forces beyond the ken of all natural order. This goes true for all of humankind, Carl Boomhauser not withstanding. He felt a surge of what some would call courage, what others could call inner strength, what some areas would call cajones. Whatever one would call it, Boom had full access to it when he responded. "So, what does she deserve, someone like you?"

"Yes."

Boom batted away Sky's hands, "Someone that is so me deep in themselves that they can't see when someone else is hurting? Someone that is concerned with looking good to the detriment of the other person, or someone that is more concerned about their own life that they other person means shit to them in the long run when they have been used up?"

That is when red ranger Sky Tate lost it and swung his fist, connecting hard with the left cheek of Boom. Neither men noticed that in the doorway stood two women, one short and dusky complexioned, the other tall with fair complexion, her hair in twin braids and an outfit sure to give any otaku a nosebleed. The sound of the strike echoed as Boom spit blood out of his mouth and turned to look at Sky. Boom turned back to Sky and glared through him. You could hear a pin drop as he charged the ranger.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own the property of the Power Rangers. This is done for relaxation on my part. I don't make money from this, but if you wouldn't mind tossing some electrons into my review box, I wouldn't mind.

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Author's Notes: Umm, nothing to really add here but let the fight begin in earnest!

-

Sky's breath left his body as the mass that was Carl Boomhauser plowed into his midsection. The red ranger was lifted from his feet and unceremoniously deposited on the ground. Instinctively Sky raised a shield into a dome and regained his bearings as Boom descended upon the barrier. Sky did nothing but smirk as he saw the hapless technician flail on the barrier.

The world began to move in slow motion for the rest of the occupants in the room; the two women in the door started to move towards Boom to try and separate the two, while Bridge, who had been in the corner reading moved into action to do the same thing. The only thing that seemed to be happening at full speed to any of the three was Boom's torrent of blows on Sky's shield, blows that seemed to be increasing in strength and ferocity.

At that point, Doctor Kathryn Manx and Commander Doggie Cruger passed the door and saw what was going on. They both rushed into the room, and closely followed Syd and Z. The only thing that Boom was aware of was the world slipping away as his fist kept trying to reach Sky. It was at the moment that the blackness of the tunnel vision shifted to a sickening red that it happened.

From outside the bubble of force the five people not involved in the fight heard a sickening crunch followed by a somewhat meaty splat. Sky saw a red viscous substance start to coat the outside of his protection. Boom let out a scream, not of pain, but of rage. A burst of energy knocked the five others off balance, and if they were looking in the right place, they could see the shattered bone and ripped flesh of the mangled hand forced away by a fresh grown hand, perfect without a mark, in its place.

Kat and Cruger, while surprised by the energy burst, had seen this before, and still acted. Z was stunned into inactivity, which was fortunate, because Syd turned fully away from the now grisly scene, and into her teammate's body. Bridge, knocked back by the force, was now in a fetal position, clutching his head. Kat and Cruger exchanged a look and changed their directions. Cruger went to Bridge, scooped him up and rushed him out of the room. Kat went to the two women.

Pulling Syd to face her, Kat told her, "We have got to divert Boom's attention. We have to give him something non-threatening that he likes, or something really bad may happen. Syd, you have to do something; he is still harboring too much ill feeling toward me."

"Kat, what is going on?" wailed Syd.

"We will explain it to you later. Right now you need to break his rage," implored the felinoid.

"But how?"

"I've got an idea," chimed in Z. "Remember how you said all it would take would be white cotton…"

Syd caught on right away. "Okay, stand back," she said. When the other two had moved out of her way, she smiled and called, "Oh, Boomy…"

Boom stopped using double hammer blows on Sky's barrier and glanced around. Sky looked up from his prone position. He was visibly sweating, visible even through the haze of the shield. Boom caught sight of Sydney, and when he did, she did the one thing she knew would distract any man. She did a panty shot at him adding, "Wouldn't you rather pound on this instead?"

The room was quiet except of the ragged sound of Boom's breath. Sky dropped his shield, half out of exhaustion, half out of surprise of what little he caught sight of around Boom. Z from surprised muttered, "Someone is going to get some tonight."

Kat was in shock. She had said to distract Boom, not offer him something like a cheap trollop. She shook her head to clear the thoughts. _Boom's_ _personal life is not my concern. I don't have the right to say anything about it. I gave that up._ She snapped herself from her thoughts and went into action. "Z, get to Sky and slowly move him out of the room," she said softly.

Syd slowly moved towards Boom, who looked like he was dazed and confused about where he was, though truthfully Syd would have had that effect on many people after what she did. She had a soft smile on her face and reached for a pigtail in what looked to be an absent-minded manner. She bit her bottom lip, and let it quiver as she spoke in a soft voice, "Boomy, would you hold me?"

Through the quickly dissipating cloud of red that permeated Boom's conscious mind he nodded, knowing that this was more important than whatever he had forgotten what he was doing. He held out his arms and Syd melted into them and nestled into his body as he closed them. She cringed just a little when something slimy touched her upper back. She knew it was his blood that he didn't realize was there. She knew that she was the cause of this, and that caused her to bury her face into his shirt and let the tears go.

Z reached Sky and brought him to his unsteady feet. She slowly started helping him towards the door, acting as his crutch. Passing the two entwined people, he shook his head at the concept of them together, and couldn't wrap his mind around the two of them together.

Cruger appeared in the doorway with a steadying Bridge holding onto the edge of it. "Rangers," the Commander uttered in a soft voice, "meeting right away in my office. Cadet Drew, come as soon as you can. I think I can answer the questions that are in your heads right now."

The three rangers entered fully into the hall and followed Cruger. "Boomy, I need to take care of some business and clean up. How about I meet you in your room and we can talk some more, and maybe… well we will see what happens," she said softly into his ear, her breath warm and wet on his skin. "Plus, I think Kat may want to check you out. It wouldn't hurt to make sure you are healthy for later."

Boom nodded, his face full of her hair, "Okay, on one condition. Would you wear the orange outfit that you modeled?"

Syd bit his earlobe and nodded her head, pulling it slightly, "Uh-huh."

Syd tried to back up, but realized that Boom's arms still held her. "Boomy, you have to let go for me to leave, if I don't leave I can't change my panties for you," she mock pouted.

Boom lessened his arms and had an embarrassed look on his face, "Oh, yeah, sorry…"

Syd walked to the doorway, paused, looked over her right shoulder and flipped up the edge of her short skirt as she winked and walked out of sight. Boom heard Kat sigh. He turned to look at her, "What was that about."

"You, her, all that is going on right now. Why did you attack Sky like that?" questioned the scientist.

"He hit me first, just because I rebuffed the impossibility of Syd and me being together." It was Boom's turn to sigh. "It seems like no one hear wants us together, but we are, we don't know how much, or for how long…"

"Boom, I," Kat started, but was stopped.

"Let's get this over with; I want to get cleaned up before Syd gets to my room." A bit of darkness urged him to twist the knife. "I wonder what else she wants to do besides talk?"

-

Syd entered Cruger's office and the door shut behind her. Cruger was looking at the four of the rangers in front of him with critical eyes. Cruger sighed. "Rangers, I don't know where to begin. This is not a time to be handled like a battle; it is far more delicate. This has to do, somewhat, with Kat and myself. It also has something to do with what we learned when you first entered the academy. We knew that you three," he indicated Sky, Bridge, and Sydney, "had powers from your progenitor's exposure to the original work on the SPD morphers. What SPD didn't take into account that there are some naturally occurring abilities on Earth.

An incident happened that first week that opened our eyes. During combat training, an unknown power, to us, manifested itself. A cadet that was picked on snapped when he was injured. He completely healed himself, and went into a rage. Looking back into the history of your planet, we were able to discern that it used to be called the berserker rage. It was said that those with it were possessed by the spirits of the bear or wolf in battle, which aided them with strength and protected them from wounds. You all have seen the effect of that here today.

The decision to place the cadet out of the SPD program was made, but it was advised that it would be best to keep him in a place to observe him. Kat stepped in and 'adopted' the cadet as an assistant. Over time she was able to discern exactly what the ability entailed, and began to quantify it. She found that his healing ability was on all the time, so she made him the tester of all questionable equipment. The rage part of the powers hadn't been an issue until today."

"But, Sir, if Boom had powers like these, why wasn't he put into the ranger program like us?" asked Bridge.

Cruger looked at him, "Because of the repercussion of the powers. When the rage hits, well, you have seen the effect first 'mind' Bridge. The rage doesn't just stop at them, but can influence anyone that is sensitive around them. Also, Cadet Tate can attest to the boost that Boom had in strength." Sky just dumbly nodded. "Now imagine that strength augmented by your uniforms. Along with the possibility of his healing power infusing the uniform itself, he would be unstoppable by all but instantly fatal blows."

"But he wouldn't be able to use his powers while morphed," interjected Sky.

"Actually, we think he could," corrected Cruger, "You see, your powers come from your parents' exposure to radiation during the development of the morphers. It runs along the same wavelength, so that you can have one power or the other, but not both at the same time. Boom on the other hand has a power separate from the morphing grid."

There was a silence in the room. Cruger looked around to the rangers again. "I don't need to say that none of this goes past this room, do I?" came the commanding voice.

The four rangers popped to their feet and saluted, "NO, SIR!"

"Good, dismissed. Sky could you stay behind, we need to discuss the punishment that you are going to receive for striking a civilian without a cause."

Sky's jaw dropped to the floor.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own the properties known as Power Rangers. They like most other things are owned by the Mouse.

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Author's Notes: I was going to start this chapter with Syd arriving at Boom's room. If the scene continued how it flowed from me, then this would no longer be T. I am not quite sure what to classify it as, but T would not be it. What does it mean when the Standards Board spontaneously combusts? Well, here we start the next morning.

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BLRRK

BLRRK  
BLRRK

A stray hand sought the offending creature that was trying to arouse the source of the hand. After three failed attempts, the hand found the correct button silencing to obnoxious alarm. The long lithe fingers wrapped themselves through the mane of blonde hair and pulled. A low soft moan was the reward as the head connected to said hair began to turn.

Syd softly kissed Boom's lips, which elicited a smile from him. Seeing that it did not wake him, she smiled and let her other hand snake lower. With it finding purchase, she squeezed what she had in her hand lightly, "Come on Boomy, time to wake up. You are getting up already."

"This dream is too good to wake up," he mumbled.

Smirking Sydney allowed her nails to find soft skin, and then let them close into it. "I'm up!" exulted Boom.

"Yes, you are… You are awake now also," Syd commented in a breathy voice. "I will have to remember the response that doing that has, though last night I didn't have to worry about it."

Boom blushed a very flattering shade of crimson. "Well, I, that is you, that is to say that it was very easy to not need any help."

Syd smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "So we probably need to get cleaned up," she said, settling her head in the crook of his neck. "So, who takes the first shower?"

"I kind of thought we could take one together."

"And you know if we did that neither of us would be on time," Syd said with a deflating sigh. "Though it does sound nice doesn't it? We can't be late though, not with all that happened yesterday. I guess I will go first, since you seem to have an issue to deal with," she added with a giggle as she got out of the bed.

Boom looked at where Syd was pointing and blushed again, "Well you are the one that caused it, so maybe you should be the one to take care of it."

Syd paused in the doorway to the bathroom, she was cast in silhouette by the light issuing from the room, "I did take care of it five times last night, you insatiable satyr."

"That you did, my nubile nymph, but why not make it an even six times?"

"I am not a nymph, remember, I am a goddess, and THAT is something you better not forget," she said winking as she slid fully into the bathroom.

Boom heard the water start running, and sighed. There was no way he could forget calling her that. It was more evident now than ever that she was a divine being, instead of a mere mortal, at least to him that is. The past twenty-four hours were a remarkable blur filled with the visage of her face and body holding the only focus. He took in a deep breath, and the smell of sex was prevalent. This did not bode well in quelling the stirring of his loins. He sighed and started to think of Zord circuit patterns. The slow monotonous mental tracing of the circuitry slowly began diverting blood from one end of his body to the other.

It was just in time, as he finished with a sigh of relief, Syd walked through the door with nothing on but a towel around her torso to cover her silken skin, still glistening from the shower. Her blond hair, still wet clung to her body where it had come in contact, looking as if streams of gold flowed into her body. Boom looked at her and smiled. He slid from the bed and walked over to her, kissed her softly on the lips, and whispered, "I think I need to hydrate." With that, he liked at the water on her neck, and then her shoulders, sending shivers down her body. Her slim hands stopped him as he sought entry to the towel.

"Now, now, Boomy, none of that right now. You need to shower and get ready. I'll meet you at breakfast. If you can guess what I am wearing under my outfit, I will give you a special prize."

Boom let a smarmy grin come onto his face. "How about I guess what you aren't wearing under what you have on now?" He finished by snaking a hand through the open end of the towel and let it seek its goal.

Syd twisted away and grinned as she lightly grabbed his ear and rubbed it. One of the interesting things last night was the exploration of each other and finding the odd spots that elicited illicit responses from the other. Syd learned that rubbing Boom's ears would pretty well put him into a stupor, as well as playing with his hair. Though Boom had also learned that the nape of her neck and her toes were weak points for her, not to mention one that she didn't know about. She melted when he licked the inside of her elbow.

Smirking she leaned in and whispered into his ear, "The sooner we start, the sooner we are through, and the sooner we can come back here."

Boom nodded vacantly. "Okay, but no fair using the ear thing at random okay? It really throws me off my game."

Syd nodded, "I promise, as long as you don't use any of mine. I mean what would people think if they saw you licking my elbow in the hall? Now, to the shower with you, I still need to get dressed enough to make to my room to get my uniform on, get my hair done, make-up on," Syd then sighed. "See you for breakfast in forty-five minutes?"

"That won't be a problem for me. Though I wonder why you wear make-up Sydney, you are so beautiful without it."

Syd grinned, leaned in to kiss Boom, and then pulled away, "You are real good at saying the right thing as a boyfriend. That will serve you well as you serve your goddess." Syd slipped the skirt up her legs, and pulled the top down over her head and shoulders. "See you in forty-five, Boomy," she said as she slipped out of the door.

Boom watched her go, and loosed a contented sigh as the door closed. He looked around and noticed two things in the room that were not his. Syd's bra and panties were on the floor where they were discarded last night. He picked them up and placed them onto his bed. He then went to take his shower.

Afterword: I have been nominated for Best NonCanon Romance at the Hope For The World Fanfiction Awards for this fic. Please, if you find this fic enjoyable, considere me for your vote in that category.


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